Abstract
In the laboratory, Balanus balanoides (L.) barnacles maintained without food at 5°C over the winter to summer period remained cold-tolerant. Winter animals maintained at 5°C and fed Artemia nauplii under a controlled light-dark regime until mid-summer lost this cold-tolerance. Summer animals, maintained without food at 5° or 15°C until midwinter, became cold-tolerant. Summer and winter animals subjected to increased (or decreased) ambient salinity for 48 h showed a small decrease (or increase) in their lower median lethal temperature (MLT—defined as the temperature at which 50% of the animals die after 18 h exposure to air). Summer animals subjected to desiccation for 48 h also showed a small decrease in their lower MLT. It is concluded that the seasonal changes in cold-tolerance of adult barnacles are probably induced by a combination of environmental factors including food availability, light intensity, day-length and changes in ambient sea-water temperatures. Development of cold-tolerance in the winter did not depend upon fertilisation. Changes in intra-cellular solute concentration which accompany adaptation to changes in ambient salinity or desiccation do not appear to be related to the seasonal changes in cold-tolerance.
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Communicated by J. H. S. Blaxter, Oban
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Cook, P.A., Lewis, A.H. Acquisition and loss of cold-tolerance in adult barnacles (Balanus balanoides) kept under laboratory conditions. Marine Biology 9, 26–30 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00348814
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00348814